Ahead of its eventual reopening to the public, St. Peter’s Basilica is being cleaned and sanitized at the direction of the Vatican’s health and hygiene department.
Public Masses will resume throughout Italy from May 18 under strict conditions.
After being closed to visitors and pilgrims for more than two months, the Vatican basilica is preparing to open again, with increased health measures, though the exact date has not yet been announced.
Arcangeli said staff are disinfecting “the pavements, the altars, the sacristy, the stairs, practically all the surfaces,” while taking care to not damage any of the basilica’s artworks.
One of the additional health protocols St. Peter’s Basilica may adopt as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus is checking visitors’ temperatures, the Holy See press office said May 14.
Full story at Catholic News Agency.
Tourism to the Vatican has tanked during the Francis pontificate, coronavirus notwithstanding. Doubtful traffic to the amazingly beautiful St. Peter’s Basilica will increase anytime soon. Eventually people will want to visit, who can blame them for staying away at this time. Francis AND corona are the reasons.
They should have cleansed it with Holy Water when they brought the Pachamama in.
Agreed. They should exorcise the place and re-consecrate it.
This could be a teaching moment for world church’s and mosque if the same news release gave details of the sanitizing chemicals involved . That would be more reassuring to me. Bc for St Peter’s such sanitizing will be necessary daily for best application of the precautionary principle.
Almosts only count in horseshoes and sometimes grenade throwing. The Vatican should take everyone’s temperature as they enter. Anything less than ‘best practice’ sanitation protocols will not increase visitors’ willingness to visit St Peters
I just ordered several attractive, conservative, handmade, triple-layer, cotton, reversible face masks, with metal contour nose pieces, from a Catholic website, “Veils by Lily,” located in a suburb of St.
Louis, MO. They sell beautiful, traditional, handmade mantillas, chapel caps, infinity headscarves, and similar head coverings, for Catholic ladies. I still have my own collection, from over half a century ago, and have always worn them to the old Tridentine Latin Mass– and sometimes, to the Novus Ordo Mass. I am very happy to see this revival of Catholic ladies wearing beautiful mantillas and similar head coverings, in church– along with modest, feminine dresses! You can find these face masks, as well as mantillas, etc., at http://www.veilsbylily.com. You can also call them, at (800) 277-1813. They also promote Eucharistic Adoration, with many beautiful essays on this topic, by young Catholic ladies.
The Vatican used to have a strict dress code, and I’d love to see it re-instated! Women used to be required to dress in modest dresses, with usually black mantillas.